Manufacturer: SMART MEMORIES Sp. z o.o.

Fruits and vegetables is an educational game consisting of 15 pairs of wooden memory tiles featuring our original illustrations. The depicted fruits and vegetables include both well-known ones like strawberries or carrots, and those less familiar to little ones that are slightly more challenging, such as eggplant.

Supporting a child’s development through play, as encouraged by the Montessori method, allows them to gain knowledge in a given field as well as practice necessary skills. Social and linguistic competencies, as well as the ability to learn, are very important for every child. How can you play wisely with your child? You will find the answers to this question in 7 suggested game scenarios included with our memory tiles. When creating these game suggestions, we aimed for the toy to grow with the child, making it attractive both for 2-year-olds and for children already attending school.

The memory game allows for the development of primarily: concentration, memory, visual perception, hand-eye coordination, and speech and communication. Did you know that:

Concentration is the ability to focus attention on something specific. It can be an activity being performed, a specific object, or instructions spoken by a teacher. Focusing attention ensures a child's proper development and is essential at every stage of their education.
A young child's mind is like a sponge. Toddlers quickly absorb a great many new words and information, which allows them to get to know their surrounding environment. For this process to take place without disruption, constant memory training is essential.
Visual perception allows a child to get to know and understand the world around them. It is also essential in further education when learning to read, write, and count. Initially, when playing with several elements featuring different pictures, the child must focus their gaze on them and assess what they see, e.g., colors, shapes, similarities, and differences. This is an introduction to more advanced analysis, which is, among other things, the foundation of logical thinking.
Hand-eye coordination enables the achievement of precise movements. It is essential in everyday activities – from eating independently, dressing, drawing, or writing, to physical activity. Hand-eye coordination additionally requires training of the child's hands and fingers, i.e., fine motor skills.
Speech and effective communication are the foundation of daily family life and are also indispensable in developing social competencies. They allow a child to express their thoughts and feelings and to understand what others want to convey.

Colorful dizzying fun, or sorting by color – number of players: 2, suggested age: 2+

Choose memory tiles with the same color of vegetables and fruits (orange, red, green, and purple), and then ask the child to sort the pictures by color.

Tips:

when sorting colors, use the same number of tiles for each; you can use pairs to have more elements;
to make the task easier for the child, place a base where the pictures of a specific color are to be put – this could be, for example, a piece of colored paper, or a jar of paint or modeling clay in that specific color;
to add variety to the game while practicing the names of colors, fruits, and vegetables, play detectives and search the house for items of a specific color, e.g., choose a picture of a raspberry and go looking for something red (saying out loud at the same time: let’s look for something red like a raspberry); after finding this item (or a piece of it), place the memory tile against it and check if the colors match; you can give each other tasks and time yourselves – you’ll find out who is the better detective.

You can find more game suggestions in the booklet included with the toy and on our Facebook and Instagram fan pages.